Begins Here
by jas93
Summary: This basically kicks off right from where Season 4 ended, when Charlie and Stella go to the Cemetery. Why does Charlie act the way that he does - what is it about his past? Will they stop the second bomb? These questions and more will be answered.
1. Chapter 1

"Take as long as you need." Charlie said as Stella stepped out of the car, "I'll be right here." He said softly and snuck in a half smile whilst he leaned back on the front of the car and watched her walk in. She could feel his gaze on her as she strolled through the cemetery but that didn't bother her at this stage. She was trying to think about what to say to Michael, and keep him updated on what's going on. She froze when she saw "Michael Sandrelli" on the corner of her eye. She slowly walked towards the gravestone, went down on her knees and turned of her wire. "Hey Mike, it's me," she began, "I just wanted to let you know what's been going on around here lately." She took a deep breath before continuing,

"It's been pretty hectic. There was a massive bomb that some Russian psychopath called the 'Cuckoo' wanted to use to blow up thousands of innocent people, and then there was something to do with Korea and some Doomsday cult shit. But we stopped the Cuckoo, well actually Charlie shot him, and Josh stopped the bomb. Josh typed in a number combination that Lawson gave him, and if the number didn't work the bomb would've blown up. So that was a pretty ballsy move by him." She paused and took a few more deep breaths, trying to keep her composure.

"Shannon and Lawson are going well, I reckon they'll be getting married soon. I'll let you know when they do. Christian is same old Christian with his religious crap. Josh has been fearless since you've been up there. Nothing bothers him anymore. But not me – " Her body finally gave in as her lungs slightly choked on the cold air.

"Some days I find this easier than others. It's just not the same without you." She clenched her fists as the tears flowed like a waterfall down her cheeks. She thought she had already let it all out before but that obviously wasn't the case. The toxicity burning in her veins reached boiling point.

She looked up to see Charlie walking towards her. She closed her eyes, "Far out," she thought; she really couldn't be bothered listening to whatever it was he was going to say. But she didn't care about anything - nothing mattered anymore.

To her surprise, when he knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder, he said nothing. His touch was gentle although the look on his eyes didn't suggest so. They looked angry and hurt and being where he was right now wasn't doing him any favours either. To his surprise, Stella placed her hand on top of his on her shoulder. He thought she was trying to brush it off, but she gripped it as though her life depended it.

He squeezed her hand before letting go, "C'mon, let's get out of here." He whispered before he stood up and started to walk back to the car. The piercing sounds of Stella's pain made him turn around. She stood up, and through her tears she desperately looked into his eyes, "I can't do this anymore."

"Yes, you can..." He said softly.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" She roared each word between every sob.

"I do, Stel. Please calm down."

"NO, YOU DON'T!" She turned her back on him and kicked rocks along the ground in frustration. She was losing her mind and Charlie was beginning to feel powerless. He slowly walked towards her, "You will get through this. It gets easier." His voice was merely louder than a whisper. "It's okay to feel like this."

When she didn't respond, he took a few steps closer. He swallowed apprehensively, worried about what might happen next, before walking to face her front on. She turned away, not wanting him to see her in the state that she was. Her energy was rubbing off on him and as every second passed his blood was also slowly feeling toxic. Impulsively, he reached out to put his right hand on top of her elbow. This time she yanked his hand away. "Don't…please…" she pleaded as she turned her head away from him again. She felt weak at the knees. It was all too much.

"You're not alone this time, Stel"

She broke down at the sound of her name. Within that moment, he pulled her closer to him and embraced her gently. When she didn't resist, he closed his eyes and placed his head on top of hers.

* * *

><p>Kerry answered the phone, anticipating on good news.<p>

"This information better be good." She continued listening, "Okay." She shook her head in disbelief. "Shit."

"What's wrong Kerry?" asked Leon.

"They've got another bomb."

Leon momentarily froze in shock, before he slanted his head on the wall. Kerry needed to alert the team and get them back to base instantly.

"Hey everyone, just got some ah, important news and I need you all back at base immediately."

"Yep, we're on our way Kerry." Replied Lawson.

* * *

><p>"Charlie, did you get that?" Kerry's voice filled the air, "Charlie, do you read me? Hello?"<p>

His eyes flashed open and he turned off his wire. Whatever Kerry wanted didn't matter right now. That could wait.

Stella's breathing was slowing down and she was beginning to relax. Without a second thought, Charlie planted a kiss on top of her head and let go of her. He turned around and walked back to the car, deliberately avoiding eye contact. Stella followed him shortly after and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Charlie, where the bloody hell are you?" Kerry's voice growled from Stella's mic.

Stella looked up at Charlie, who obviously had no intention to respond to Kerry. "Yeah we're coming Kerry." Stella replied.

"Now you decided to respond? Tell Charlie to put his wire on, will ya?"

"Alright."

She gave him one quick glance then looked out the window. She knew that something was playing around in his mind. His face was unusually expressionless, deeply lost in his thoughts. They sat in silence the entire trip back to base.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Charlie and Stella hopped out of the car and joined Kerry, Lawson, Josh, Christian, Leon and Shannon in their circle. They were all staring at them with frustrated and tired eyes. Lawson's gaze did not leave Charlie's figure. He crossed his arms in confidence before snarling at him, "What's the go mate, we've been waiting for nearly an hour?"

Charlie avoided eye contact with Lawson and stood there in silence. The longer he didn't respond; Lawson grew increasingly irritated. He waved his hand to get his attention "Hey, bozo, over here!"

Charlie looked up at Kerry, willing to change the subject. "What's been happening?"

Lawson snickered and shook his head in disbelief.

"Drop it, Lawson." Stella ordered. Lawson stopped straight away, and raised his eyebrows in shock and curiosity at Stella's defence.

"Thank you!" Barked Kerry. When everyone was silent, she continued, "I just got a phone call. Look, I'm sorry everyone…" She put a hand on the back of her head and looked at each of them, "There's another bomb."

Charlie crossed his arms and fixed his eyes on the ground in exhaustion and defeat. The look on everyone's faces screamed louder than any spoken word. Everyone was tired and this is not what they needed right now. But they needed to push through it, not just for themselves, but also in honour of Michael. Josh was brave enough to break the silence, "This is bullshit, Kerry." He said softly. It all erupted from there.

"It's not my bloody fault!"

"So do you know for sure that this is still involving all that Russian and Korean shit?" asked Stella.

"We can only assume so."

"So it's heading for Korea then?" asked Christian.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"How did we not pick this up before?" Shannon questioned with disbelief in her voice whilst throwing her hands in the air.

"I dunno, it just doesn't seem likely though, does it?"

"And I don't reckon it would be difficult to have two different bombs in separate locations. These bastards seem to know what they're doing." Said Leon.

"Are you sure there's only one more? How many more could there be?" Lawson directed at Kerry.

Kerry rubbed her forehead from his questioning and lowered her voice, "Let's not go there, please, Lawson"

"I'm sure there would only be one more, I doubt they could've used that many resources themselves." Christian said optimistically.

"So what are we gonna do?" asked Stella. They all looked at each other before setting eyes on Kerry.

"Well to be quite honest I reckon you should all have a bit of a break before we do anything."

Josh didn't agree with that idea, "Those animals won't be resting, Kerry." Kerry sighed loudly and stood in silence. Lawson glared back at Charlie, who wasn't involving himself in the conversation. "What do you reckon Charlie?" he asked.

Charlie lifted his head up and looked at Lawson. "Ah yeah, I agree with Kerry. Go home, freshen up and come back in tomorrow morning. "

"Alright. Just so you all know, I am _very_ proud of every single one of you with how you have handled this situation. Don't let this obstacle bring your ass' down. We can do this." She said firmly. "Now I'll see you all at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning. If anything comes up in the mean time, I'll contact Charlie and he'll pass it on to you guys."

"Thanks Kerry." Said Lawson. She nodded and headed straight back to the office. Leon followed and Charlie wasn't too far behind. The rest of the team stayed where they were and started talking as soon as they were out of sight. Stella was sure that she saw Charlie's eyes water up before he went off.

"How the hell can they expect us to have a break when there's another bomb out there?" Josh spat.

"Beats me, mate." Said Lawson.

"Screw this shit." Josh raged and stormed off into the locker room to get changed.

"So ah, Stel, are you gonna tell me what's goin' on with Charlie?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well why the hell wasn't he responding and what took ya an hour to get here?"

"I dunno."

"C'mon, give me that shit."

"Why is it that you are the only one who has a problem with it, Lawson? Leave it alone."

"Well I'm bloody exhausted so I'm going home." Shannon said to try to break the tension. Stella gave Shannon a thankful look.

"Yeah, me too." Said Christian.

Shannon and Christian walked off together. Shannon turned around and addressed Lawson, "I'll just be getting changed and I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yep." He looked down onto Stella with his arms still crossed. "What happened, really?"

"Nothing _happened_, Lawson. We went to the Cemetery because I wanted to talk to Michael about what's been going on. Then it all turned to shit and he was just there for me, that's all. But he was different."

"How?"

"I dunno. There was just something."

"Righto. Give me a call if you need anything, okay?"

"Yeah alright."

Lawson half smiled, placed his hand on her shoulder then walked off, "Don't hit the grog too hard." Stella chuckled and headed to the locker room to have a shower.

* * *

><p>Kerry was sitting on the desk behind Leon's usual spot flickering through files and bits of paper. She was too stressed to even understand what she was reading but she kept going anyway. Charlie came out of his office and approached Kerry. "So what happens now?" he asked her. She sighed before giving her response. "Well I guess we'll have to find Kenta Tomi and his mob of idiots. We could shut down the ports in the mean time but we dunno if it's heading for Korea or if it's meant for home."<p>

"Any idea on where he is?"

"Look, Charlie, why don't you just go home."

He walked away without responding and headed back into his office. He shut the door behind him and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to ease the sickening feeling in his stomach. He had failed. Again. No matter how hard he tries, something always comes back to bite him in the ass. At that thought, he took off his vest, untucked his shirt and sat down at his desk, gearing up for a long night ahead.

He couldn't stop thinking about the incident at the cemetery earlier on, especially the look on Stella's face. It made him feel weak. Maybe he could've prevented Michael's death somehow. Maybe if he didn't drop him none of this would've happened. But he had his reasons for picking Michael. If he had chosen Stella instead, would she have survived and therefore Michael would've still been alive too? He still thinks he made the right decision. But it can't be taken back now.

At the end of the day, he loathed himself. He hated how he felt over these years, even though he exercised heaps and took care of himself. The loneliness was sinking into him as fast as a brick in a swimming pool. Up until now he hasn't been able to admit it, but it's true, and today regurgitated those old feelings. For the first time in years, he connected with someone. That's what he did with Stella.

* * *

><p>Stella hopped in the shower and the one next to her was running as well. "Shan, is that you?" she yelled.<p>

"Yep! I'm nearly done though."

"Cool. What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Um, just gonna go back to mine and hang out with Lawson, I think."

"Woo, get yo freak on!" Stella laughed loudly.

"Shut up, Stel!" Shannon turned off her water and got out of the shower. "So what's going on with Charlie?"

"Oh, not you as well! It's obvious you're with Lawson!"

"I was just saying!"

"I don't even know hey. I think he's just tired."

"Fair enough." Shannon had all of her clothes on and she was ready to go, but she had something to tell her first. "Hey Stel, you know I think Lawson and I will be getting married."

"What!" Stella turned off the water, put a towel around her and got out to face Shannon and get changed. "Holy shit! How did he propose?"

Shannon giggled, "Well, he actually asked me when I was wrapped in a towel like what you are right now. Then on the way back from Fiji I told him to ask me again at a better time." She said with a massive grin across her face. Stella couldn't help but laugh. "Classy Lawson, as always."

"Oh, yep" Shannon waited for Stella to get changed before heading off. Once she was ready, they picked up their bags and walked to their cars. "So what are you gonna do tonight?"

"I dunno, probably just watch a few movies at home or something then hit the sack early."

"Sounds good. Give me a call if you wanna come by."

"Nah, wouldn't wanna disturb ya!" she teased, although really, Shannon had everything that she'll never have.

* * *

><p>Charlie was driving back to base with his dinner that he just collected from an Italian restaurant. The clock read 7:52pm, but he didn't want to go home. Suddenly he slammed the breaks and steered the wheel to the left as a car cut him off. "Bloody idiot!" the car sped off in a hurry and Charlie notices plates on the rear. "P-plater, of course it is."<p>

His phone started to ring just as he was turning. "Far out!" he burst. He reached for his pocket once he had turned off and looked at who was calling – Stella.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for taking longer to update! Been flat out with holiday season etc...and a mixture of some writers block! This one is a lot longer than the previous chapters as well.**

Charlie gulped before answering the phone, "Stella?"

"Hey, what's doing?"

"Listen, I'm just driving. I'll give you a call back in 10 minutes."

"Okay, where you heading off to?"

"Ah, just having a feed."

"Alrighty, catch ya later."

He hung up the phone and chucked it on the passenger seat.

Stella unmated the TV and continued making her dinner. It wasn't a freezing cold night so the stove was basically enough to keep her at a comfortable temperature. She had spent all afternoon watching movies and binging on junk food on her couch. Now she was quite sick of her lounge room and had a burning desire to get out of the house after dinner. She didn't know who else to call. Shannon and Lawson were doing their own thing, she couldn't be bothered with Leon, Christian had his own family to be with and Josh, well, it's Josh. So that just left Charlie. She didn't think he would be busy with anyone tonight, and she wanted to thank him for today.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" Shannon asked Lawson, who was driving. He smiled and remained silent. "Lawson!"<p>

"One of my favourite past times when I was younger. It's gonna be fun." He assured her. After 20 minutes of silence, he pulled into the car park of their destination.

"Go Karting! Hey, hey!" she said enthusiastically. They hopped out of the car and Lawson took her hand. "I am _so _going to whoop your ass!" she teased. Lawson gave her a stern look and tried not to smile to show that he meant business.

"Bring it."

She giggled at his reaction and squeezed his hand. "Righto."

They walked to the counter and Lawson spoke to the attendant, "G'day. Just two adults for the next umm Ultimate Track race thanks."

"Mmmmhh, what type of kart do you wish to drive?"

"The fastest one." Shannon answered before Lawson could even open his mouth.

"Okay." He typed away at the computer before proceeding, "What are your names? They will appear on the Leader board with your time and position."

"Lawson, spelt L-a-w-s-o-n" he paused, smiled at Shannon then turned back, "and Shaz"

Shannon contained her giggling and stared at the ground to avoid eye contact with Lawson.

"Alright. Well that comes to $62.70."

Lawson let go of Shannon's hand and handed over the money. "Your session will start in 15 minutes. It will last for 30 minutes, with 3 races at 10 minutes each. Here are your passes. The hairnets and the helmets are just around the corner."

"Cool, thanks champ."

They walked off and collected their gear.

"Shaz – really Lawson?" she said firmly.

"What? Gotta have a sense of humour sometimes!" he untangled his hairnet and put it on his head. "Does this bring out my eyes?"

She giggled out loud this time, "Too far, Lawson." She slightly blushed in embarrassment as other people sitting around were watching him. But she could handle the embarrassment; after all, in that moment, she was relatively happy.

* * *

><p>Charlie parked the car, grabbed his stuff from the passenger seat and headed into base. He dumped his dinner on the table and grabbed a beer from the fridge. It was quite at base tonight, perhaps Kerry had already left, he thought. He hooked into his pizza and beer and wondered what Stella wanted. He didn't really feel like talking to her tonight, especially after today. Maybe he went a bit too far, but she didn't seem to mind, he thought. He was just soothing her, that's all. It felt like the right thing to do in the moment.<p>

He picked up his phone and scrolled down to Stella's name. When he swallowed his pizza, he froze. Something was holding him back - A gut feeling. Was he still afraid? He knew exactly what it was, but he pushed through it this time. He could hear his heart beat in his head as he pressed her name.

"Hey, about time! So much for 10 minutes!" she yelped.

He checked the time – 20:38. "Sorry Stel, lost track of time."

"That's alright, don't sweat it. So what are ya doing?"

"Just finishing my pizza and sitting around, I guess. How were you enjoying your time off today?"

"Nothing exciting. Spent a bit of time with some good old friends"

"Friends from school or…?"

"Nah, the couch, tub of rocky road ice cream and telly." Charlie laughed and stopped when Stella asked him what he was up to.

"Ah, did some training and stuff at home then just sat around." He wasn't lying about the training, but he was about staying at home.

"Really? Have you got your own gear?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got lots of stuff."

"Well I'm dying to get out of this house." She paused, "Wanna go to the pub?"

Charlie wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't feel like going anywhere, he wanted to stay by himself tonight. "My shout." She added when she didn't get an immediate response.

"Really? What's the shout for?"

"I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything." He said softly.

Stella lowered her voice, "Look, it was a shit day, Charlie. Let's just grab a few beers and chill out, yeah?"

She was right and he knew it. He didn't want to fight with her so he took up her offer, "Yeah, okay."

"That's what I thought. You'd have to be crazy to refuse free beer from a chick!"

"Just one thing though - Catch a cab there then I'll drop you home later."

"Don't worry, I'll be responsible this time."

"Stel…"

"I'm serious! I'll only drink one or two."

"Alright. I'll see you in 10."

"As in 10 minutes your time or normal time?"

"Very funny." He snickered and hung up the phone with a small grin across his face.

Maybe this is exactly what he needed. Maybe not.

* * *

><p>Lawson sat down and reached his arms out, signalling her to sit with him. She placed herself on a comfortable position on his leg and wrapped her arms around his neck while he tightly gripped her waist. She looked down onto him, "Hey, I have an idea."<p>

"Really, what might that be?" He caught her gaze and held onto it.

"Well, if I win, you have to massage me for an hour, everyday for the next 2 weeks and stay at my place."

He laughed and squeezed her waist, "And what if I win?"

She thought about it momentarily, "I'll move in with you."

"I think that's a pretty good deal."

She smiled and relaxed on him. She wanted to tell him about everything that was going on, regardless of who wins. That's a promise she's made for herself. He deserves to know, and she has been stupid to not say anything.

"Next session is about to begin, please head to gate number one."

She kissed his forehead before they stood up and headed over. They handed over their session 1 cards and separated to choose their vehicles. Shannon picked the red one, because obviously red is the fastest. Lawson picked the black one situated in front of her. Shannon adjusted her seat and placed her hands on the steering wheel. All systems go.

"Just some quick reminders guys," the guy shouted, "this isn't dodgem cars, so please don't ram into one another. Also, if you see me waving the red flag, it means stop immediately. If you see me wave the yellow one, it means to slow down someone has broken down or something." He started moving off the track, "When the lights turn green, you're all good to go!"

Shannon quickly glanced at Lawson then fixed her gaze on the traffic lights. They flicked to orange, so she started revving up just to stir him up. "Don't burn out too early!" he called out to her, knowing what she was up to.

Finally they changed to green. Shannon released the park brake and slammed the acceleration pedal to the floor. Her neck slightly whip lashed at the quick take off, "Shit." She mumbled, not expecting it to accelerate that quickly.

* * *

><p>The pub was only a minute up the road from base so he was already there waiting for her. He'd rather wait for her than the other way around. When he reached the entrance he jumped up and sat on the rail.<p>

He did some training at home this afternoon, which helped a lot as usual, so he was already feeling slightly more relaxed than what he was earlier on. But he didn't understand why the nerves decided to creep up on him. It's not what he wanted right now.

"Charlie!"

He swiftly jerked his head up to see Stella standing only meters away from him. His eyes opened widely and faintly smiled as she walked closer to him.

"Hey Stel." He said when she was right in front of him.

"You right up there?"

"Yeah." he hopped down from the rail and led her into the pub.

They approached the bar and Stella spoke, "I'll just grab a Smirnoff thanks, and –" and turned to Charlie, "What would you like?"

"An Estrella Damm, if they have any."

"Yeah, we do." Said the bartender.

Stella nodded her head in approval, "Classy."

Stella handed over the money and the bar tender raised his eyebrows in confusion. "It was her shout, mate." Snapped Charlie. He picked up his drink and thanked Stella. The bar tender shook his head, knowing that Charlie could see him. So Charlie stood up and looked for somewhere else to sit. He wasn't in the mood for anyone's crap. He saw an empty spot near the corner and lead Stella to the table. They sat down and Charlie's eyes didn't leave her face. She looked exhausted, but relaxed.

* * *

><p>Kerry sat on her couch with her head buried in her hands. She couldn't remember the last time she felt as mentally drained as she did. Sleep was hardly an option though. Her heart pumped too much toxicity into her body. After all, the pressure placed on her was immense and only now was she really starting to feel it. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.<p>

She sipped on her glass of wine. Like it'll help at all, she thought. If anything it'll only make her feel worse in the morning, but she couldn't care less. She didn't care about much anymore.

Just as she picked up the remote to turn on the television, the doorbell rang. Who the hell could that be? She wasn't expecting anyone. She picked up her gun from the bench and headed towards the front door. She slowly opened the door with one hand and held the gun in the other behind her back.

"Hey." Said Josh. He held up a six pack of beer

"Yeah, come in."

* * *

><p>"You're looking a bit better." Charlie said quietly.<p>

"Was I really that bad?"

Charlie nodded his head in agreement.

"Sorry. I just -"

"Stel, you don't need to make excuses." He cut her off non-aggressively.

She half-smiled at him and looked him in the eye. "Thanks."

So she didn't seem bothered by what he did, she was appreciative. "How are you going?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." He said politely. "You know there's no reason to thank me, Stel."

She ignored that comment, "I hate showing weakness. I bloody hate it." He stared at her curiously and sipped at his drink. "One thing I'm awesome at is pushing people away."

"It's not something to be proud of."

"No, it's not."

"Why do you hate it so much?"

"You know when you feel like you're letting everyone else down because you can't get your shit together? I dunno, really. It's hard to explain."

"No I get it. And you didn't let me down today. Maybe on some other occasions" she chuckled and he continued when she stopped, "But this time have no reason to feel like you should be proving a point to anyone. At the end of the day you are the only one who can do what's best for you. And sometimes the only reason we push people away to see who will chase after us, or if someone in particular will."

"Someone's all philosophical tonight." She said with a tone of surprise in her voice. She leaned back onto her seat and tilted her head in curiosity.

"13 years of work in the police force will do that to you…"

"Have you heard anything from Kerry?"

"No. That's usually a good thing."

Stella sipped at her drink from relief. She was blown out. Being alone tonight was something she didn't want, but she didn't have the strength to go to work even if the others were there. She was comfortable where she was.

* * *

><p>"So how are ya feelin'?" Josh asked Kerry as they sat down on opposite couches.<p>

"Ah, been better, yourself?"

"Same shit, different day."

She nodded her head in mutual understanding and cracked open a bottle from Josh's stash.

"Hey, um, good on you for today. Only you would've had the balls to do it."

"I didn't come here for a friggin pat on the back."

"Why'd you come here then?"

"I don't really know what to say, Kerry." Josh sculled half the bottle of beer before Kerry made him stop, "Wow, wow, take it easy."

"What's the point?"

"Hey, you need to calm down."

Josh looked up at her and lowered his voice, "No matter how many crooks we stop, there's always another one to take their place."

"That's…just the way it is." Kerry was sort of shocked at the way Josh was talking, but he spoke what was on her mind as well. "Look if we did nothing, the world would be a terrible place. We wouldn't even be having this conversation if you didn't stop the bomb."

He sat there in silence and avoided eye contact with her. "You've just gotta push through the shit, Josh, there's no other way"

"Have ya heard anything?"

"No, I haven't actually."

"Don't you think it's a bit strange that there's another bomb out there but we know nothing about it?"

"I actually told them to leave us out of it for tonight, we've played our part for today, don't ya think? The taskforce has other squads looking into it tonight and if they need us they'll let us know"

"We should be out there."

"I know you're feeling like a fearless hero at the moment but you've just gotta wait until tomorrow, okay?"

Josh slouched lower on the couch and mumbled to himself in frustration.

* * *

><p>"Tell me a bit about yourself." Said Charlie.<p>

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what else does Stella Dagostino do outside of TR?"

She looked at him in the eyes and relaxed her arms on the table. "What you see is what you get."

Silence fell between them, so Charlie took a sip of his drink. "Why'd you join TR?"

"What do you think? The guns and fast cars." She said jokingly.

Charlie laughed, "That'll be right."

"What were you thinking 13 years ago?"

He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. He wasn't sure how to respond. "Same as you, I guess."

Silence again, and Charlie looked down at his drink.

"So are you from around here?"

His eyes shot up and he nodded his head. Something was going on in his mind, and she grew increasingly curious. And she would admit, picking at his brain was quite enjoyable, but there were boundaries.

"What about Anna, hey?" She asked as an attempt to brighten the mood.

"Nah."

"Bullshit. Like I told ya before, a girl knows."

"I told her I didn't want anything. Seriously. Plus she's…I dunno how to put it."

"A crazy, stubborn, powerful bitch."

A wide grin swept across his face, "Yeah that's pretty accurate."

"Alrighty then. Anna, Kerry and Shannon. You've gotta kill one, root one, and marry one. Go!"

Charlie genuinely laughed out loud, "Are you serious?"

"C'mon."

He contained his laughter and hardly had to think about a response, "Too easy. Kill Anna, root Kerry and marry Shannon." Stella's laughter filled the pub.

"Shhh everyone's looking." Charlie said between his giggling. "Lawson, Josh, Leon. Go."

"Kill Lawson, root Josh and marry Leon."

"That's one thing we have in common."

"What, root Josh?"

"Kill Lawson."

"Do I really need to ask what's going on between you two?"

"No, probably not."

"You two should sort your shit out."

"I don't even bother with him anymore. I've tried but he doesn't wanna listen to me."

"Well you didn't exactly leave the greatest first impression now, did ya?"

"Yeah, I couldn't help it."

She leaned forward and glared into his eyes, "There's something you're not telling me."

"And?"

"I think you should spill."

"I don't think that's a great idea."

"You think you don't want to talk about it…but your eyes won't shut up." She said sternly.

He wanted to tell her everything, he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. At least not tonight anyway. He was exhausted and there was too much to think about. Her gaze did not leave his. He never got to look at her like this before tonight. Her long hair sat comfortably on her shoulders and her eyes spoke a thousand words. She was beautiful, inside and out. But then again, he always knew she was.

"Not tonight."

And he meant it. He'll tell her someday – now wasn't the right time. She was the only one he wanted to tell, he didn't want the entire team to know. Especially Lawson, he wouldn't care anyway.

"Do you want something to eat? I'll grab it for you." He asked.

"Nah don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I had my favourite taco's tonight. Made them myself – world-class."

"Alright. Stel…can I just say one thing though?"

"What's up?"

"Look, I'm…really sorry about Michael."

"What?"

"It's not a nice way to lose someone close to you."

"Don't be sorry Charlie, seriously, it's –"

"Sometimes I think that what happened to him was my fault."

She froze momentarily, "How? If ya didn't sack him?"

"Look, someone had to go. It was my decision on who it was gonna be, but it wasn't my idea in the first place. And to be quite honest, I didn't like the idea of the whole undercover thing but it was our only chance."

"Then why didn't you do anything about it?"

"That's the point I'm trying to make." He muttered.

Now she felt guilty for making him feel guilty. She wanted to blame him because it's the easiest option, but she knew it wasn't right. "Sorry, I didn't – "

"Forget it."

"What I was trying to say is that if you ever need anything…let me know"

"Thanks."

"Now's not the time to be pushing everyone away, Stel. We're all here for you. And time can only heal so much."

"That's really comforting."

"It's just a fact."

"You seem to know a lot about it."

"What do you mean?"

"You manage to say the right things."

"Well I'm glad someone thinks that."

* * *

><p>Kerry scratched her head and looked down onto the floor. Josh's presence was making her anxious and she wanted him to leave. He sat there like a statue "Hey listen Josh, I wanna hit the sack."<p>

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just need to shut my eyes for a bit."

"Okay."

They stood up and headed towards the entrance. Josh opened the door and turned to Kerry. "Anything comes up, you tell me straight away."

"No worries. See you tomorrow."

"You bet ya." He muttered aggressively and walked off.

Kerry rolled her eyes, shut the door and walked back to the couch. She jumped onto her back, took a few deep breaths and shut her eyes.

"You cut me off, that's cheating!" said Shannon.

"Since when?"

"Since…you just can't do that, it's not fair!"

"If Craig Lowndes gets cut off, does the guy that did it get disqualified? Nup!"

"Fine."

He wrapped one arm over her shoulder and led her to the car. For the first time since he can remember, he was happy. And now that Shannon appeared to be over needing space, maybe things could work out the way he wanted it, he thought.

"Mine or yours?" asked Shannon.

"Let's go to yours. I'm sick of mine at the moment."

He let go of her and grabbed his car keys from his pocket. He placed his arms on the roof of his car and looked at her, "Hey, a deal's a deal, isn't it?"

She looked up at him and smiled cheekily.

* * *

><p>Stella checked her phone and muttered, "Shit it's nearly 11. I reckon we should get going, I wanna try and actually get some sleep."<p>

"Yeah, okay."

She gathered all of her stuff and stood up. Charlie mimicked her movements and they left the pub. She turned around and faced him.

"Well I'll see ya in the morning." She said.

"Alright. Call me anytime, okay?" She smiled weakly and nodded,

"Where's your car?"

She pointed behind her. "Down this way."

"Okay. Take care, Stel."

They parted ways and said nothing more to each other. Charlie kept his eyes locked to the ground as he walked, losing himself in his thoughts. He did care about her, but that's all it would ever be. Nothing more, nothing less. He never thought of her as anything more. Where the hell was all of this coming from? He brushed off those thoughts circulating in his mind and reassured himself. He was just worried about her, that's all.

Suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket. Only one person would be calling him at this time of the night. When he saw Kerry's name appear on the screen, his stomach dropped. He answered the phone, expecting the worst. "Hello?"

"Kerry, you there?" Still nothing but silence from her end. He thought he could hear the faintest movement but he wasn't sure what it was. "Kerry!"

He listened for a little longer but gave up and disconnected the call. "Shit." He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and drove back to base.

He ran through the garage and into the offices. He frantically looked around, trying to find Kerry. She was nowhere to be seen, but he heard Leon's voice and ran towards his usual spot. Leon's facial expression changed when he saw Charlie appear next him.

"Charlie, hey!"

"Mate, now's not the time to be mucking around! Turn that shit off, you're better than that!"

"Yeah, sorry."

Charlie looked away from him and the screen in disgust until he switched it off. "Have you seen Kerry?"

"No, she left a while ago. You're not gonna tell her, are you?"

"What? No. She just called me but she wouldn't respond. Can you track her phone?"

"Ah, yeah, can do." He typed away at the computer as though it was as easy as breathing. The three bars finally made it to 100% and the location of Kerry's phone appeared on the screen.

"She's just at home. Well at least her phone is."

"Thanks." He patted Leon on the back and ran off, "and go home will ya!" he yelled whilst running.

"Yep, no worries." Leon said to himself.

Charlie stormed off in his car. He had no idea where this sudden adrenaline rush came from, but it was controlling him. He didn't want to call any of the others.

He parked the car across the road from her place and grabbed his glock from under the seat. There was a lamp light on in her house so he assumed she was in there. Or hoped anyway. He loudly knocked on the door and waited. Nothing.

"Kerry?" he called out.


End file.
